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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

It's Unbelievable Our Children Survived

I do remember the happiest moment of my life.
I was driving in my little red Chevy Sprint with a baby car seat right beside me.
Yes, I know.
The front seat.  It was ages ago.  It's unbelievable our children survived.

She was facing me.
It was Sept 4th, 1995.
She was six weeks old.

The sun was shining, the windows were open. The wind was blowing through my hair.
And she was smiling up at me.
Do babies smile at six weeks?  Maybe it was gas.
One can never be sure at six weeks.

All I knew was that I wasn't in the classroom with all the other teachers.
As each new class of fourteen years olds walked into their room.
I wasn't the one calling out the names of my students.

I couldn't wipe the grin stretching from ear to ear off of my face.
It was as though I was in a parade.
Except I wasn't waving to anyone.

In that instant I knew where my heart was.
I was where I was supposed to be.
And you know what?

Sixteen years later, I still feel the same way.
Because when I pick her up from school and look over at her in the seat beside me,
and she's smiling at me?

I can't help but smile back.
Because there is one thing I know for sure...

It's.  definitely.  not.  gas.


xoxo,

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16 comments:

  1. Beautiful, lovely moment in time.

    Sometimes we just know what's right in our hearts, don't we? {Gas, notwithstanding! :)}

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  2. I love how you tied the past to present in this post! I have loved being home too.

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  3. Thanks for taking me on that ride!
    And to think I was just sitting here thinking I would rather not have a toddler jumping and squiggling on my lap. How wrong I was!! Now I'm holding her tight. I know sooner than not she won't want to sit on my lap anymore. (Although I have a big lap if she wants to sit on it when she's 16! Or 30.)

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  4. did i already know we had the teaching thing in common? i remember feeling this exact same way that first fall out of my classroom with my new baby ... for me, it's been 13 years, and i still can't help but smile either :)

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  5. and she will be SO thrilled you cleared that up! :)
    I wish I could have done the same 6 years ago, but here I sit in a school building, thankfully though, not in the classroom anymore. I couldn't handle it right now!

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  6. I wholeheartedly agree! Beautifully said.

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  7. This post made me smile. And it isn't gas! ;v)

    Beautifully written!

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  8. What a cute post, Dana.

    Well done!

    =)

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  9. I don't think they even made me bring a car seat to the hospital to the my first two kids. What was wrong with the world?

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  10. AW. I love this post! Amazing how a story about gas can be so sweet. LOL.

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  11. What a great memory!

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  12. What a beautiful story and memory...your daughter is so obviously loved!!! How lucky is she and what a blessing for you to be able to pick her up from school still!

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  13. Such a great story! And BEAUTIFUL imagery!

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  14. You are such an awesome mom, and your writing tells such a sweet story. She is beautiful!

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